Happy Halloween, Emily by Claire Masurel is one of the first books my girls read about Halloween. Of course, we love it for the bunny’s cute name! This story incorporates the fun aspects of Halloween for kids – costumes, decorations, and candy!

Emily is going to be in a Halloween parade with her friends. But she is getting a little nervous. Will she see scary monsters and ghosts? And just who is that scarecrow? He looks familiar. . .

A cute story on Halloween for young children!

Book Description: Three baby owls awake one night to find their mother gone, and they wonder where she is. What is she doing? When will she be back? What scary things move all around them? Not surprisingly, joyous flapping and dancing and bouncing greet the mother’s return, lending a celebratory tone to the ending of this comforting tale.

My Review: This book is for preschool – about 7 year old children. It is a very sweet story that could be read when a mom has to go away for a short time to reassure her children that YES she will be back. It also shares what might go through the minds of children when their parent leaves for a time. I bought this book as a Halloween gift for my granddaughters after reading the suggestion in another great book about long-distance grandparenting (which I will review another time). The illustrations by Patrick Benson are great! A book worth adding the your child’s library!

From the Back Cover
An exceptional lift-a-flap book leads little hands and hearts to big fun! BOZ is having a pumpkin party and everybody’s invited—especially preschoolers, who find all the flaps and surprises irresistible! BOZ and his friends dress up, decorate, celebrate, and share. Children learn that working and playing with friends and family makes the day special.

My Review: This is a very cute board book by Zonderkidz. I love these alternative Halloween books! This is all about friendship, fellowship (party), helping, and unscary costumes. Perfect for preschoolers who love pop-up books – and which ones don’t. My two year old granddaughter is getting this in her Halloween package!

The theme of this story is pumpkins – after all, what would Halloween be without pumpkins? This is a cute little story about a giant pumpkin that is cut loose by the Baxter kids and rolls on down through their family farm. As each family member sees it passing by, he or she imagines what that pumpkin would taste like in one of Granny’s famous pumpkin dishes. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread – the family is getting hungry!

This book is really fun to read aloud, because it has a repeating, lyrical refrain that almost makes you start singing or chanting the words as you read them. The pictures (illustrated by S.D. Schindler) are bright and comical and full of autumny hues.

From the Back Cover
“For God made the Earth—He made everything! He makes all the wonders each season will bring. He changes the colors on leaves big and small, red, brown and yellow to tell us it’s Fall. He turns the fields into ribbons of Gold, sparkling with frost as the autumn grows cold.” Destined to become a family keepsake, this unique, jacketed hardcover celebrates the wonders of an entire season. With help from the alphabet, preschoolers journey through God’s harvest blessings—in the process discovering just how much there is to be thankful for! The fun is infectious as they learn to appreciate autumn for its beauty and bounty, opportunities to celebrate with friends and family, and traditions like barn dances, corn mazes, pumpkin carving, and more.

My Review: Cute alphabet book for Christian kids! The illustrations by Yawen Ariel Pang are wonderful and appropriate. This book is a good combination for two concepts – learning the abc’s and their sounds and learning ALL the things during the autumn time that we can be thankful for. It’s also a rhyming book which is always fun to read. This book is published by Zonderkidz.

Rat is going to have to go to school. Not to any school, no matter who runs it or how cool it is. That is, until Humpty is called to the school to investigate a ghost, and Merlin tells Rat he might be the one to finally pull the sword from the stone.

My Review: Another winner for middle aged boys and girls. The characters appeal to boys, but one of the main characters this time is a girl so I would try this book for both boys and girls ages 7 and up. Ghosts, magic, fairy-tale like characters, and one normal boy and girl are elements used in this story. The illustrations are great! I love the way the ghosts are portrayed. The gross elements are also included which appeal to children such as the skinny man in old underwear, scraping boogers, etc. Again watch the video.

Product Description
Humpty Dumpty Jr. has always gotten the bad guy. Always. Except once, when the case got too personal. You know that case. The one about his Dad…

And now, a frantic call for help tells him that someone is making it personal again. “Johnny” Cakes, a two-bit pancake punk, has escaped from jail. And Patty, of the famous (and delicious) Pat-A-Cake Bakery, has disappeared. Could “Johnny” Cakes be behind it? Whoever kidnapped Patty better watch out; Humpty is no soft-cooked Egg. He is 100% Hardboiled.

From the (fairly) scrambled minds of three acclaimed children’s writers and illustrators comes a hilarious new detective who always cracks the case. Set on the grimy streets of New Yolk City, where the Queen of Hearts lives in Queens (where else?), the adventures of Humpty Dumpty Jr. are sure to delight early and chapter-book readers alike. This is the start of a very funny, totally action-packed new series no one will want to miss!

“Once Upon a Crime:
There was a detective. Me.

Humpty Dumpty Jr., Hardboiled Detective. I’m a good egg who always cracks the case. One morning, sitting at my desk, I watched the sun rise out my grimy window. Dawn light played peek-a-boo through the tall skyscrapers of the gritty city.

My city.
New Yolk City.”

My review: The first book in Humpty Dumpty Jr: Hardboiled Detective series is titled “The Case of the Fiendish Flapjack Flop.” This series is great book for middle aged boys. I have some of my former students in mind who would LOVE this type of book. It includes just the right amount of “grossness.” It also uses fairy tale characters and brings them to life. This can also be a slight problem because children do not always know fairy tales. Please take one minute and watch the attached video, especially if you have reluctant boy readers ages 7 and up.

The Tutu Ballet is quite a cute story about individuality and shining with your own talent. Everyone is needed and works better together than separately. The animals in the forest: bear, mouse, hare, and fox all go to ballet lessons. Each one could and wanted to perform only one move and couldn’t seem to work together until the teacher, Ms. Berry created one ballet where each animal could shine and perform their own speciality. This story is sweet and very clear. The illustrations are gorgeous and really support the text. This is the second book I have read and reviewed for Ms. Lee and I look forward to many more. I would recommend it for children ages 3-8.

Product Description
Love and hope transcend all boundaries when a boy and a dragonfly meet. An impossible encounter? Lea journeys through a beautiful garden to discover the boy’s secret. As she follows his clues, Lea meets people who need her help. And at the end, the unexpected secret is revealed. Part mystery, part surprise, this timeless story that celebrates the dragonfly’s gift to others is sure to leave a lasting impression. Beautifully illustrated, The Dragonfly Secret gently encourages children and adults to explore life’s infinite possibilities. Because of it, readers may look at nature in an entirely new light.

My Review: This book is beautifully illustrated by Barbara Gibson. The presentation is magnificent. The story is a little different, maybe because I have never read the first book, “The Dragonfly Door.” As a Christian, I would have to say that God can use any of His creation for any purpose, therefore explaining how a dragonfly can communicate and bring comfort to human beings. This book is way above the level of my second graders, and I think I would have to recommend it for older children (maybe 10 and older) because there are a lot of inferences I don’t think my students would understand. I would have to explain quite a bit, so therefore unless you come from a paradigm where you could explain this book more fully – and that’s not a teacher in the classroom, I would not recommend it for younger children. It would also be great for any counselor who deals in grief issues with people.

Product Description

Johnny Big Ears is just like every other five-year-old child, but when he starts his first day of kindergarten, children begin to tease him because of his enormously large ears. Follow Johnny as he faces the challenges that being different presents. How will Johnny react to being teased? Find out why Johnny turns out to be the winner in this endearing, thoughtful book that addresses typical childhood bullying and offers children advice on how to deal with teasing.

My Review: I’m always looking for new books to read to my class to help build self-esteem and empathy, and this book hits both marks. Johnny uses a lot of “self-talk” as he tries to deal with the cruelty of his classmates. When called names, Johnny begins to mentally rehearse all of his good qualities. My class felt that this was a great book for children in pre-school through fourth grade. They thought it would be a great book to read to unhappy children, to read for helping somebody feel better, to read for a writing assignment, to read to teach children what really matters, and just to read for plain fun. The children would definitely read another book by John Paul Padilla. Boys and girls alike would like this book. I give it four stars!